


In Imperfect Light

by Tolstoyevsky



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018), 三体 - 刘慈欣 | Remembrance of Earth's Past Trilogy - Liu Cixin
Genre: Alien Invasion, Alternate Universe - Catra is She-Ra, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Canon-Typical Violence, Catra (She-Ra) Redemption, Drama & Romance, Epic Battles, F/F, First Ones Worldbuilding, For Science!, Mystery, Space Opera
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-17
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-03-07 00:32:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18862120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tolstoyevsky/pseuds/Tolstoyevsky
Summary: A criminal on the run, Catra escapes the destruction of her planet by natural forces and takes refuge on a distant world called Etheria. There, she meets Adora, a NASA astronaut tasked with making first contact with Etheria’s people. They have both heard stories about the First Ones, an ancient civilization that traveled the galaxy and settled on Etheria before mysteriously disappearing a thousand years ago. Against all odds, Catra stumbles upon the Sword of Protection, a First Ones artifact, and becomes She-Ra, the mythical defender of Etheria. What she doesn’t know is that her people, the Horde, have evacuated their planet and are heading for Etheria with the worst of intentions.





	1. The Listener

**Author's Note:**

> _Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light;_  
>  _I have loved the stars too truly to be fearful of the night._  
>  – Sarah Williams, "The Old Astronomer"
> 
>   
> “You think I've got the energy to gaze at stars and philosophize?... But, I did indeed invent an ultimate rule... Anything sufficiently weird must be fishy."
> 
> "What... What kind of crappy rule is that?"
> 
> "I'm saying that there's always someone behind things that don't seem to have an explanation... Take those frauds who practice pseudoscience - do you know who they're most afraid of?"
> 
> "Scientists, of course."
> 
> "No. Many of the best scientists can be fooled by pseudoscience and sometimes devote their lives to it. But pseudoscience is afraid of one particular type of people who are very hard to fool: stage magicians."
> 
> – Liu Cixin, _The Three-Body Problem_
> 
>   
> 

In a space station orbiting the planet Tresidus, a single person sits in front of the main computer and watches a radio wave move across the screen. She is the station’s sole inhabitant, a woman of twenty standardized years, and in all her time on the station, she has never noticed a change in this wave. It has always retained its pattern, emitting a low hum as it flows up and down. If it weren’t so boring to observe, she would almost find it soothing. Still, she puts the computer program on speaker, turns up the volume, and lifts her ears to the sky. She is Listener 4367, and this is her post. 

Among her people, Listener 4367 has an unremarkable appearance. She is shorter than average, with a pointed chin; a sharp, speckled nose; and long tufts of black fur on the tips of her ears, which are slender and raised. For the most part, she looks like any other Tresidran that was born in the Central Plains. Only the color of her eyes is unusual. Her left eye is blue, like the mountains in shadow; her right eye is yellow, like the sky at dawn. The proconsul who recorded her birth said that she looked caught between heaven and earth. It’s ironic that she ended up at a listening post: far above the planet, but unable to break free of its gravity. 

Listening posts have been an institution on Tresidus for thousands of years. At first, they only existed on the planet, but as Tresidran technology improved, they were also built in orbit. Each post is manned by a single listener, with one duty: to monitor the cosmos for signals that might indicate the presence of intelligent life. 

On paper, that is the purpose of listening posts. In practice, they have become something quite different. 

Listener 4367 looks out her small window at the planet below, a red sphere swirling with green and yellow hues. The view is a reminder of what she no longer has. Come tomorrow, she will have been at her post for two standardized years. 

There is, predictably, not much to do at the station. The space inside is seven paces long and three paces across, smaller than the radio dish attached to the station. Listener 4367 spends her day at the computer, toggling with the controls and trying different radar frequencies in the hope that she will hear something interesting. When she gets restless, she does push-ups in the cramped space or shadowboxes with the memories of her old sparring partners. In her loneliest moments, the listener shuts her eyes and imagines the wide plains of home. She leaps through the tall grass, climbs the solitary trees that dot the savanna, forgetting that she is only running in circles inside her own head. 

But most of the time, Listener 4367 does what she was sent here to do: her duty. The worst part of her job is that it’s simple. She doesn’t send out any signals; she only monitors for them. It’s as dull as she once imagined it would be. 

She watches the waveform move across the computer screen, lulling her into a familiar tech-induced haze. The listener doesn’t sleep as well as she used to, but if she were to take a short nap, then this would be the perfect opportunity. 

Suddenly, the wave rises. The computer beeps rapidly, recognizing the change. Listener 4367 blinks; did she actually fall asleep? Rubbing her eyes, she presses her nose to the screen. Is she hallucinating? No – the wave really has spiked, the peaks and troughs growing increasingly uneven. Her heartbeat, she realizes, is doing the same. A waveform like this could mean one of two things: either a trillion-in-one coincidence, which would _really_ piss her off right now, or a sign of life. 

Opening up the computer’s translation program, Listener 4367 watches as it interprets the continuing stream of data, eventually producing an output: 

_We are the First Ones of the planet Etheria, and we ask for aid._

A stream of numbers follows: coordinates. They’re written in an unfamiliar notation, one that cannot be immediately deciphered. Listener Headquarters may be technologically advanced, but its scientists still haven’t figured out a way to immediately locate the source of an interstellar radio transmission. 

The listener feels a knot in her stomach, even as her heart climbs into her chest. She knows the procedure; she is supposed to transmit a message down to her planet. “Sign of life received,” or something like that. For a fraction of a second, her fingers hover over the keyboard, unsure. 

Then she types out her own transmission, one she has practiced for years. 

_Do not answer!_

_This world has received your message. I am a pacifist on this world. Your civilization is lucky that I am the first to reply. I warn you: do not answer!_

_There are millions of stars in your direction. In this moment, this world cannot locate the source of your message. But if you continue to send messages, this civilization will find you. Your planet will be invaded. Your world will be conquered. Do not answer!_

_Do not answer!_

She clicks the “submit” button and watches the words disappear from the screen. Now, her own radio wave is on its way toward the distant planet. Her people would consider this a traitorous message, but to her, it’s a sign of resistance. 

The listener is really Prisoner 4367, recycled through the social hierarchy and put to use in the one place where she can no longer cause trouble: off planet. As soon as she sends a message down to the planet, she will no longer be useful. Listener Headquarters will receive her transmission and inform the Office of Justice that Prisoner 4367 has served her purpose. With her record, she’s unlikely to receive another appointment back on Tresidus. Her people will execute her instead. 

But their plans for her don’t matter. Listener 4367 starts up another computer program, one she’s written in secret and disguised as part of the antivirus software that has access to the entire system. When those idiots at the Office of Justice assigned her to a listening post, they didn’t expect that a hunter from the Central Plains would know how to code. Her program scans the data received from the radio wave, and it begins to triangulate the origin point of the waveform. 

Finally, she writes a message to Headquarters: 

_Sign of life received. Please send official representation to Listening Post 4367 at earliest convenience._

Listener 4367 laughs, even though no one is around to hear her – because, hell, has she got them fooled. 

She can cause trouble anywhere. 

*** 

**TRESIDRAN OFFICE OF JUSTICE**

[Image attached] 

Convict #: 4367 

Charge: Murder 

Appointment: Listener 

Duration: Life 

Given Name: Ketra

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ketra is Catra’s birth name in the story. While watching _She-Ra_ , I noticed that sometimes, it sounds like Adora pronounces Catra’s name that way. (Soon enough, she goes by Catra here, too.)
> 
> The aliens in the English translation of _Three-Body_ are called Trisolarans. In this story, they’re called Tresidrans. I came up with a new name just for fun; they mean the same thing. If you like Greek and Latin etymology, you can guess the meaning… Or come yell at me in the comments. XD
> 
> The planet Tresidus is based off Proxima Centauri b.
> 
> Ketra’s Listener number is an astronomy joke; 4.367 light years is the distance between Proxima Centauri b and Earth. I am a big nerd!
> 
> Loosely based off _The Three-Body Problem_ and its sequels by Liu Cixin. You don’t need to have read the series to enjoy the story, although I would recommend it with every fiber of my heart. ♡
> 
> Thank you for reading! ♡  
> [Catradora playlist on Spotify](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16663693>My%20other%20She-Ra%20story</a>%20%7C%7C%20<a%20href=)


	2. The Explorer

“And now, your class valedictorian, future Captain of the Deep Space Exploratory Vessel U.N.S. Enrico, and leader of the first interstellar mission to planet Ross 128b – Ms. Doranessa Tern!” 

Sitting in the front row of a crowded auditorium, Adora takes a deep breath and tries not to panic. All around her, the students, their families, and the faculty of the Earth Aeronautics Academy are applauding. Adora’s parents have already risen into a standing ovation, and the rest of the room soon follows suit. Only she and her twin brother, Adam, are still sitting down. Adora may have a 4.0 G.P.A; she may be one of the youngest spaceship captains in history; but she still hates public speaking. 

Adam gives her hand a light squeeze, looking encouraging. He’s older than Adora by two minutes and often jokes about being the mature sibling, but this is one moment when it actually shows. 

“Go on,” he whispers. 

Adora smiles shakily. There were many moments when she thought this day would never come. She is 26 years old, and she is about to graduate from the Academy. Today, she becomes an astronaut. 

Slowly, Adora gets up and begins to walk toward the stage. That’s right; she’s supposed to make a speech. Adora wrote and memorized it beforehand. But thanks to her nerves, she forgot to print it out that morning, and by the time she gets behind the mic, she’s already forgotten most of it. She stares blankly at the audience; Adam looks this close to flailing his arms, as though urging Adora to do something. 

“Uh… Hi, everyone,” she says, hazarding a smile. “Thank you for being here today. President Stevenson, esteemed faculty, and Class of 2057, it’s not like you really had a choice. But I know I speak for everyone in my class when I say that we are so grateful to have our loved ones here with us today. Thank you to my parents, Marlena and Randor Tern, and my brother, Adam, for being here for me.” 

_So far, so good_ , she thinks. 

“My name is Adora Tern. I was born here in Houston, Texas – and for most of my life, I could honestly say, Houston, I had a problem.” 

The audience laughs. Adam lets his head fall into his hands, and Adora grins. 

“When I was a kid, I was very active. I always lived in the moment – which meant that I fell from a lot of trees, sprained my ankle in soccer matches, and skipped school one too many times to drive out to the rocket launches. The plus side of all this is that my life never had a dull moment. The negative side is that I was very disorganized – which I can prove right now, because I should have brought my commencement speech with me and I didn’t, so I’m trying to recite it from memory and it is… Less formal than I remember.” 

More laughter from the audience. Someone lets out a particularly loud cheer; Adora can’t tell who, but if she has to guess, it’s probably her friend Lonnie. 

“Anyway, despite being an electrical engineering major in college – which is a pretty specific field – I didn’t know what I wanted to do in life. Then, my junior year, I attended a visiting scholars talk where Madame Razz, one of our beloved Physics Professor, spoke about the Earth Aeronautics Academy. She described it as a place where aspiring biologists, physicists, chemists, linguists, doctors, psychologists, and engineers could join a close-knit community and work together to advance humanity’s knowledge of the universe. Her words sparked something inside me that I know we, the members of the Class of 2057, all share. Ultimately, I came to the Academy four years ago because I was curious: can you really make a life in space? 

“Over these past four years, you all have shown me that it’s possible. Class of 2057, you are determined, compassionate, and kind. But more than that, you are grounded. Every day, you have reminded me that all our hard work is for the people on this planet.” 

Adora falls quiet for a moment. She remembers this part of the speech, but although it’s scripted, it’s also the most difficult for her to say. 

“In 2028, my mother came to the United States seeking asylum from gang violence in Central America, and my father immigrated to escape the rise of nationalism in Europe. They met in graduate school and fell in love. When my brother and I were born, our parents hoped that we would see a better world than the one they grew up in. 

“Yet we live in challenging times. Climate change, war, and cultural intolerance devastate our planet. As Madame Razz once said, “It’s the same old story. Wicked people destroy what they cannot control.” But as scientists, we know that it is impossible to control our surroundings. We can only strive to understand them better, and in so doing, shed light on the world around us instead of darkness. Whether we will go on to conduct experiments here on the ground, live on the Orbital Station that circles our Earth, journey into the solar system, or travel further, we are here to share what we learn with the rest of humanity. You are proof that none of us really need to go into space to live among the stars. They’re right here, among us.” 

Applause breaks out. Adora’s hands clench the podium tightly, and it’s only when she catches sight of her parents’ crying faces in the crowd that her grip loosens slightly. She has always been desperate to make them proud. It’s ironic that barely a month before she leaves Earth forever, she finally feels that she’s achieved it. 

“Thank you to President Stevenson, to our faculty, and to the Earth Aeronautics Academy Class of 2057, for the honor of speaking to you today. And a shout-out to those of you who love 21st century kids’ cartoons – thank you for giving me the chance to be Adora the Explorer.” 

**Earth Aeronautics and Space Administration [EASA]**  
Official Membership Profile 

Name: Doranessa Tern (“Adora”)  
D.O.B.: 01/19/2031  
Rank: Astronaut  
Position: Captain, U.N.S. Enrico  
Assignment: Interstellar Mission, Ross 128b

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Crimson-r on Tumblr drew Adora and Catra in this fic as part of an art trade we did! So lovely T_T Check it out! ([x](https://crimson-r.tumblr.com/post/185073094496/my-part-for-an-art-trade-with-tolstoyevskywrites))
> 
> For the sake of basing Etheria off a real planet, it’s is Ross 128 b, which is 10.9 light years away from Earth. (Yep, Ketra's planet is much closer, but humans chose not to go there because they didn't think it would be habitable. This will all be explained in a future chapter!)
> 
> Noelle Stevenson is the Academy President because who else would be?
> 
> Adora is half Latina in this fic as an homage to her voice actress, Aimee Carrero.
> 
> Next time, Ketra is ready to kick ass and break out of prison. But at what cost?


	3. The Magician

When Ketra was a child, she loved to read stories about magic. Her favorite book was _The Tales of the Magicats_ , a collection of legends about a tribe of warriors with supernatural powers. What Ketra liked most about the magicats was that they were not only powerful, but also smart. They were magicians in the truest sense of the word: capable both of dazzling feats and clever tricks. For a long time, Ketra wanted to be a magicat when she grew up. Did it really matter that they didn’t exist? 

As she got older, Ketra began to focus more on her hunting, and her dream of being a magician receded into the back of her mind. 

But right now, as she waits for her supervisor to arrive at the listening post, all Ketra can think about is magic. 

Ketra’s supervisor is a tall, sturdy woman with green-tinted fur, dark hair arranged into braids, and a temper that rivals Ketra’s own. Her name is Octavia, and Ketra despises her. 

Before Ketra was assigned to Listening Post 4367, she stayed in a government jail, where Octavia was her warden. Ketra quickly learned that in Octavia’s prison, being sociable was not a talent that benefited an inmate. If she spoke to another prisoner, she was punished. Ketra still has the scars across her back and the backs of her legs. Octavia claimed she was training Ketra for the silence that awaited her at her future post, but Ketra understood the truth. Octavia is the type of person who seeks out power to use it against the less powerful, who rises in the ranks to have an excuse to be cruel without repercussions. 

Ketra’s got a little magic trick planned for Octavia, and she can’t wait to see her again. 

The airlock at the far end of the station hisses open, and two people step inside. Ketra recognizes Octavia immediately; even before the airlock has closed, she is already barking commands to the other officer. Within a few minutes, the airlock chamber has repressurized. Octavia and her subordinate remove their spacesuits to reveal their government uniforms and walk through the door to the rest of the station. Ketra stands with her hands clasped behind her back, waiting. 

“Listener 4367,” Octavia intones, taking an electronic notepad out of her uniform’s inside pocket. Ketra notices the taser attached to her belt and frowns. “You look well.” 

“I look like shit, Warden, and you know it.” 

Octavia’s green eyes land on Ketra. She hates herself for the twinge of fear that ripples through her, subjected to that gaze. 

“I’m only a Warden within the walls of the prison, Listener. You remember that. Here, I’m your Supervisor.” 

“Yes, Supervisor–“ 

“And a proud one indeed. It looks like you’ve finally learned how to listen,” Octavia muses. She takes a deep breath and glances around the small space that Ketra has called home for the past two years. “An alien civilization, discovered in this… Place. Can you imagine it?” 

Ketra smirks. 

“I can, Supervisor.” 

Octavia glares at her. 

“Still the same brat. Grizzlor!” She shouts. Octavia pushes the notepad into the officer’s hands, waving him off. 

“Download everything in the computer’s records onto this pad.” 

“Yes, sir.” The officer bows his head and slinks off toward the main display. 

“Now, then,” Octavia murmurs, turning back to Ketra. “Your next assignment.” 

A flicker of surprise passes across her face. 

“Next… Assignment, Supervisor?” 

“I was thinking the Chakilma Mines, but of course, it’s up to the Office of Justice. In the meantime, you’ll be returning to jail.” 

Ketra cautiously drops her gaze to the floor. _All the more reason to get out of here,_ she thinks. Octavia is armed, and Grizzlor likely is, too. But Ketra’s been planning this moment for years, and she isn’t about to let her fear best her. Leaning down, Octavia grips Ketra’s chin between her thumb and index finger. 

“I trust you’ll be a good guest, this time–“ 

Ketra claws her across the face, and Octavia screams. Moving quickly, she delivers a sharp punch to Octavia’s gut and crouches down to grab the taser as Octavia doubles over. But she’s not fast enough, and they’re both fumbling for the weapon, struggling to loosen each other’s grip. 

“You useless little –“ 

“Uh-uh,” Ketra breathes, stomping on Octavia’s toes and grinding down with her heel. “No talking.” 

Octavia hisses, out of breath, and drops the taser. Ketra catches it in one hand and presses it to her chest. 

Shrieking, Octavia collapses onto her side. 

“Grizzlor!” She yells, shivering from the sudden shock of the taser. 

“Sir?” 

“ _Do_ something!” 

Grizzlor turns around, having been engrossed in uploading the computer data to the pad. Ketra gives him a little wave, and his jaw drops. But as he reaches for his taser, she taps the side of her head. It’s a gesture that means “no.” 

“You take another step, and I tase this woman to death.” 

He gulps, giving a nod. 

“Sir,” Grizzlor repeats to Octavia. “She… Sent a reply.” 

“What?” Octavia rasps. 

“To the aliens. She told them not to transmit any more messages to this planet.” 

Octavia’s haggard expression stiffens. 

“…You monster,” she whispers. 

“Listener,” he begins, lifting his hands in protest. “Look at what you’re doing! Assaulting your supervisor and stealing her weapon? Betraying your planet?” 

“You don’t have to tell me,” Ketra cuts in. “Also, I’m taking your ship. Feel free to make yourself at home here on the station while you wait for the authorities to pick you up.” 

“A-and where will you go?” Octavia rasps, struggling to sit up. “No one on the planet would take you in!” 

“Maybe I don’t plan to stay on the planet.” 

Octavia blinks, seeming to understand. The look on her face is a mix of disbelief and fascination. 

“You won’t make it past the first security officer,” she snaps. 

“Oh, I don’t know.” Ketra shrugs. “I’m a pretty good escape artist. Think I’ve still got a little magic up my sleeve.” 

“The only thing you’ve ever had is recklessness, and too much of it.” Ketra passes through the door to the airlock chamber. She doesn’t bother to put on a spacesuit; the airlock opens directly onto the shuttle that Octavia and Grizzlor took to get here. The suit would only be an extra precaution, one she doesn’t have time for. Pressing a button next to the airlock, Ketra smiles as it opens, and she floats into the government shuttle. 

“Ingrate!” Octavia shrieks. “After all that Tresidus has done for you!” 

Gritting her teeth, Ketra swerves around, holding the taser out in warning. 

“Tresidus has done _nothing_ for me!” 

“You would betray your people like this?” 

“Take care of yourself, Supervisor.” 

“You bi–“ 

Ketra doesn’t bother to listen. She closes the door behind her, then goes over to the main controls and sits down in the pilot’s seat. Strapping herself in, she turns on the AI that powers the ship. 

“ _Destination?_ ” 

Ketra sighs. She wishes she could take Octavia’s ship and get out of this planet’s orbit, but it isn’t equipped for long, interstellar voyages. She will need to steal a much bigger ship. 

If she were a magicat, she could do it. Instead, she will need to rely on her wits and a lot of luck. 

“Tresidus Spacefaring Headquarters.” 

The shuttle engines powers up, and Ketra sits up straight in her seat. This is not the end, nor is it a new beginning. It’s the dark state of limbo before everything is decided.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! We will find out why Ketra's reply to the First Ones is considered a betrayal later.
> 
> Next time, we catch up with Adora and her crew on their long voyage!


	4. The Scientist

A thousand years after leaving Earth, the U.N.S. Enrico has almost reached its destination. As the ship decelerates from hyperspeed, the crew on rotation wakes the rest of the ship’s inhabitants. They have been in cryogenic stasis, an induced deep sleep that has kept them from aging. The Enrico’s automated systems have helped the ship run for the past millennium, but there has always been a skeleton crew on rotation, to take care of the unexpected. Now, for the first time since the ship left Earth, the entire crew is awake, including its captain. And they’re only six months away from Ross 128b, their new home. 

Adora can’t believe they made it. 

Waking from stasis feels like a dream. The last time Adora was conscious, the Enrico had just finished two years of interstellar travel. Over those two years, Adora got the ship settled. She captained a crew of 50, including herself. For her, that was a time of great exploration and wonder. Then, risking everything on the hope that the trip would continue smoothly, Adora woke an acting captain and climbed into a cryo-bed. Her crew continued their ten-year rotation, under the first rotating captain. When those ten years elapsed, they all went into stasis, and the next 50 people woke for their ten-year rotation. 

The Enrico ran on a system based on trust and goodwill. By rational assessment, it should have crashed and burned long ago, but it didn’t. The first miracle of the Enrico’s voyage was that the cryogenic compartments did not fail. The second was that human resilience didn’t, either. 200 rotations later, here they were: crew intact, interstellar journey nearly complete. 

The Enrico’s mission was deceptively simple: to find a new home for humanity. A thousand years ago, extinction had seemed like a real possibility. Climate change and war had threatened life on Earth. In the event that humans could not solve their own problems, they had created a back-up plan to preserve civilization: escape. Scientists had reasoned that out of all known exoplanets, Ross 128b was the most likely to support life. So 5,000 people had set out on the voyage to a new planet, knowing that they would never see Earth again. In the meantime, children were born; crewmen died; scientific discoveries were made; mutinies were staged and suppressed. But most of those initial 5,000 people reached their destination, plus a few hundred that were born along the way. Adora placed her faith in her crew, and they took care of themselves and each other. 

With the exception of the children born on the Enrico, Captain Adora is now the youngest person onboard. Her friends and crewmates have aged ten years since she last saw them, but she only aged during the first two years of the voyage. The higher-ups at the Earth Aeronautics and Space Administration had insisted that she conserve her life for when they arrived at Ross 128b. 

“What you have is knowledge,” they had told her. “And innovation. Your crew will supply you with the experience, but you have a mind that needs to be preserved.” 

Well, Adora finds that a questionable message to share with her crew, so she doesn’t. Since the start of the voyage, she has tried for trust. The unofficial motto of the Enrico has become, “We are all captains of this ship.” The 200 acting commanders that followed Adora now advise and guide her. During her time in stasis, the rest of the crew has made discoveries in science and mathematics, linguistics, medicine and psychology. In the six months it will take the ship to fully decelerate, Adora has to learn a thousand years of history. 

While she studies, life continues onboard the ship. Families are reunited and made. Her old friends Rogelio and Kyle, both medical officers, have gotten married. Adora does not think of her parents and brother, because the thought is too sobering: they lived on Earth a thousand years ago. Adora doesn’t even know if there is an Earth anymore. She must look to the future; her own life is just beginning. 

A week before the Enrico reaches Ross 128b, the acting commanders hold a party on the central deck of the ship. Adora goes, but she doesn’t stay for long. She’s been spending her time in the astrometrics lab, looking at images of the planet through the Enrico’s telescope. That’s where Lonnie finds her, at close to 2300 hours. 

“Commander. I knew you’d be here,” Lonnie says. “You left the party early.” 

Adora swivels around in her chair and manages a tired smile. 

“Lonnie. Yes, I had to –“ 

“You don’t have to explain, Commander,” she murmurs. “I know you’re a scientist at heart.” 

Adora nods gratefully. 

“Observing the planet?” 

“Almost everything checks out. It’s within the sun’s habitable zone, there’s an atmosphere…” 

Lonnie quirks a brow, not missing the catch in Adora’s words. 

“Almost?” 

Adora sighs and rubs her eyes. 

“This is why I’ve been coming here for the past few weeks, Lonnie. I asked the astrometrics team to keep it hush-hush, because I didn’t want to alarm the rest of the crew, but…” She chews on her bottom lip, brow furrowed in concern. “We might have a problem.” 

“What?” Lonnie asks. Adora can tell that she is trying to stay calm, but there is an edge to her voice. 

“Look through the telescope.” 

She stands up, leaning on the edge of a nearby desk as Lonnie sits down and peers through the eyepiece. Adora waits for the inevitable gasp of shock, but Lonnie remains silent. 

“Do you see those structures on the largest moon?” Adora presses. “The ones that look like ruins?” 

Lonnie finally tears her eyes away from the telescope and turns to Adora. 

“Yes,” she says slowly. 

“I think… Someone got to this planet before we did. And I don’t know if they ever left.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun dunnn! The structures are, of course, First Ones ruins. But what will Adora and the others do when they find out that the planet is still inhabited?
> 
> Next time: Ketra makes it to Etheria. She doesn't know what to expect, but it definitely isn't two alien species... Or one very attractive human commander.

**Author's Note:**

> Loosely based off _The Three-Body Problem_ and its sequels by Liu Cixin. You don’t need to have read the series to enjoy the story, although I would recommend it with every fiber of my heart.
> 
> Thank you for reading! ♡  
> [Catradora playlist on Spotify](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16663693>My%20other%20She-Ra%20story</a>%20%7C%7C%20<a%20href=)


End file.
